


Your Smile Hits Me Like an Espresso Shot

by DominaUmbra666



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DominaUmbra666/pseuds/DominaUmbra666
Summary: Richie and Eddie meet at the coffee shop Richie works at and celebrate finally meeting their soulmate.
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom, Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

Eddie knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up late for work and was out of coffee. Late for Eddie was early for any rational human, but it still put him in a terrible mood. He had rolled out of bed at 8:30 AM instead of 8 AM and hurried to put on his uniform before rushing into the kitchen only to realize his roommate, Mike, used the last coffee pod.

Mike was sitting at the counter with his steaming cup of coffee and a smirk on his face while he watched Eddie look in the cabinet for the coffee. “You’ll have to pick some more pods up at work. I used the last one.”

Eddie’s shoulders slumped at that information and he let his head fall against the cabinet door. Without turning to look at Mike, he said, “I’ll trade you my soul for the rest of your cup.”

“Not a chance,” said Mike right before downing the last dregs of his cup. “Besides you know the milk I put in mine will upset your stomach.”

“What am I supposed to do now? The coffee shop next to my job closed and you know I hate how expensive Starbucks is. I will not make it through 8 hours of smiling without caffeine.”

“There’s a new place just around the corner from the grocery store, on Robin Road. Try there. A friend of a friend works there, and I’ve heard the coffee is good, cheap, and strong.” Mike got up and started washing off his cup at the sink.

Eddie sighed and finally took his head off the cabinet door. “Fine, but if it’s gross, I’m blaming you.” He starts walking towards the front door.

Mike just laughs and replies, “don’t forget to meet me at Bill and Bev’s after work for game night!”

“I’ll be there at six with alcohol in tow. Don’t you worry.”

“Grab something other than wine coolers please! Some of us want a real drink.”

“Fuck off,” says Eddie before he closes the door.

…

Eddie tapped his foot while waiting in line at the coffee shop. He was due to be at work in thirty minutes and the line of three people felt more like twenty. At least the shop was clean and had a comfortable atmosphere. The seating looked cozy and while it wasn’t empty, the shop wasn’t loud. It looked like a great place for him to study when he needed to get away from Mike’s workout music and off-key singing.

When Eddie finally reached the counter to place his order, he didn’t even wait for a greeting before he said, “I’ll take a large iced americano with almond milk and how ever many espresso shots I can have before dying.”

“How about we stick to three so my soulmate doesn't die before I learn his name,” replies the barista.

Eddie looked up and the cutest man he had ever seen was standing behind the counter. His eyes went wide, and he resisted the urge to rub his thumb along the khaki covered soulmark on his right thigh as he said, “three should be fine.”

His soulmate laughed and said, “can I get a name for the order? Or should I come up with a scandalous nickname to call out? I’m thinking Honeybear?”

Eddie scowled and said, “Eddie will be fine.” He looked down at the barista’s name tag and continued, “It’s nice to meet you Richie.”

“Are you sure you don’t want Cutie Pie put on the cup? Not that Eddie isn’t a cute name.”

“I’m positive.”

Richie wrote ‘Eddie’ on the cup, but he made sure to dot the ‘i’ with a tiny heart. He turned away from Eddie in order to give his coworker the cup. “Tom, I’m taking off early.” When Eddie heard Richie say this, he pulled out his phone.

“You can’t just leave me here alone with this line of customers. It’s the morning rush!” Eddie called his boss and listened to his soulmate’s conversation while the phone rang.

“I just met my soulmate! You can’t expect me to pay attention to anything besides him for the next few hours.” Tom’s shoulders slumped, and he let out a small sigh. “Come on man, isn’t there someone else who needs the hours?”

“Congrats, Dude. Cindy can probably come in. You make this drink and I’ll go call her.”

“Yes!” Richie fist bumped and did a small dance before he spun around to face Eddie. “What do you want to do for the day?” Richie asked right as Eddie’s boss picked up.

Eddie held up his finger to tell Richie to wait a minute and told his boss, “I can’t come in today. I apologize for not giving a two-hour notice, but I just met my soulmate.”

Eddie heard his boss curse on the other end of the line and held his breath while he waited to hear if she is mad. “I understand. Enjoy your day. Would you be willing to pick up a shift later this week if someone can come in for you today?”

That is a better reaction that he was expecting from his normally anal boss, so Eddie just replied, “Of course. I have no other plans this week besides class, so if the shift fits into my availability, I’ll take it. Have a good day ma’am.”

Eddie looked back over to Richie who was holding out his coffee. He grabbed it and took a long sip. “Thank god! I swear I can feel these expresso shots hitting my blood stream.”  
“I wouldn’t want my soulmate to die of exhaustion, would I?”

Tom came back out and said, “You can go Richie. Cindy will be here soon.”

“Thanks Tom. I owe you and Cindy one!” He turned to Eddie and said, “ready to get out of here Love Muffin?”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “That’s the worst one yet.”

“Just you wait, I’m sure there will be plenty of worse ones in your future,” Richie said while he held open the door for Eddie. “After you Angel Cake.”


	2. Chapter 2

Eddie walked out of the coffee shop and Richie followed him. The streets were still busy, but the traffic was beginning to slow down as people made their way to work. Richie grabbed Eddie’s hand without warning and started to pull him down the street.

“Do you have anything in mind, Sugar Lips?” Richie asked Eddie.

“Not really. I didn’t exactly plan meeting my soulmate on my way to work.”

“That’s fine. I have an idea.” Richie grinned at Eddie and continued leading him by the hand.

Eddie followed for a few more moments and then stopped and said, “where are we going?”

“Trust me, you’ll love it,” replied Richie.

“How do you know that? You don’t know me yet.”

Richie looked Eddie up and down before giving his soulmate a dramatic wink. “I know that the universe wouldn’t only pair us because I like your ass. If you don’t like what I have in mind, we can do something else. Now do you really want me to tell you, or do you want the surprise?”

Eddie blushed at the compliment while Richie grinned at him. His heart was beating fast, but he still managed to reply, “I hope you like me for more than my butt, even if that is my best ass-et.”

“I can make a change of plans and show you how much I like your ass in and out of those pants if you’d like?” asked Richie with a voice purposefully lowered in tone. He raised one eyebrow and then winked.

“Just show me your fucking surprise, Romeo,” Eddie snapped back.

Richie let out a bark of laughter and threw his arm around Eddies shoulders. “I do love a man who can banter with me.”

They began walking down the street again. Eddie slipped his arm around Richie’s waist.

After a few minutes of walking, Richie stopped in front of a building and pulled open the door. Eddie stepped through and was greeted with the sight of a dozen pool tables and an empty bar. There was a single server sitting behind the bar reading a book.

“Hey Ruth! How are you this morning?”

“Richie! I haven’t seen you in a while. I’m doing good. It’s dead quiet this early in the morning so I get to just chill.”

“Aren’t the best parts of the day when the place is empty? Rush hour fucking sucks.”

“It really does. What are you doing here so early? I thought you worked full time at the new shop?”

“I do, but it took off early today.” Richie tugged Eddie forward. “Ruth, meet my soulmate, Eddie, who I met at work this morning.”

Ruth grinned widely and said, “he’s so cute!” She then addressed Eddie, “it’s nice to meet you. I’ll warn you now that your in for a wild ride with Richie for a soulmate. Don’t expect to get a moment of peace again.”

“I’ve already noticed, but it’s nice to have the confirmation.”

“Thanks Ruth,” Richie deadpanned. “Can we have a table and,” he turns to Eddie, “what do you want to drink once you’re done with those espresso shots?”

“Just water is fine.”

“Come on Baby Doll, lets celebrate. I’m going to at least.” Richie taps his fingers against the bar for a second before he said to Ruth, “I’ll take a pint of whatever is on tap.”

Eddie took a breath. He didn’t usually drink too much, and he never drank this early in the morning. “I’ll have a vodka and cranberry juice.”

Richie pulled him into a hug and shouted, “Yes! Time to celebrate!”

Ruth shook her head and started making their drinks.

Eddie smiled and decided he wasn’t going to regret this decision. “You are going to have to teach me how to play.”

Richie smirked and said, “I’ll teach you how to shoot straight, Snookums.”

Eddie groaned in response and said, “any name but that. Please.”

“Maybe even how to hold the shaft- I mean cue.”

“Are you sure the universe thought I was so bad that they had to torture me with you?”

Ruth puts both of their drinks on the bar before Richie had time to respond. “I do need a card on file,” she said while she pulled a set of pool balls from a shelf.

Richie passed her his card and Eddie protested. “I can pay for my own drink.”

“I know, but I’m the one who suggested celebrating. You can pick up the tab next time.”

Eddie felt a bit weak when he thought about there being a next time. He was going to spend the rest of his life with the loud, obnoxious, and gorgeous man who stood next to him. Eddie just nodded slowly and grabbed the rack of balls.

Richie led the way to their table and racked the balls. “Now usually who ever breaks doesn’t rack, but I need to teach you how and you definitely aren’t going to be able to break yet. That needs some skill and can ruin a whole game if done poorly.” He went on to explain how the balls were set up while Eddie watched intently. He thought Richie would continue his rowdy behavior while teaching, but he just concisely gave the information. Eddie tried to pay attention to the words coming out of Richie’s mouth, but was slightly distracted by his lips. At the end of the small lecture, Eddie leaned forward and pressed his lips to his soulmate’s in a quick peck.

“I hope that was okay, but your lips were very distracting, and I couldn’t resist.”

“You can kiss me any time you like,” Richie said before wrapping an arm around Eddie’s waist and pulling their fronts flush together. “I’m going to kiss you again. Is that okay with you?”

Eddie managed to say “yes” through his haze of want and then Richie’s lips were on his. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Richie pulled away.

“Time to teach you to handle a cue.” Richie grinned and pulled away to walk over to the cues lined up on the wall.

The two new soulmates spent the next few hours drinking and playing 8 ball. Richie decided not to confuse Eddie by also introducing him to 9 ball. One set of rules was enough to keep track of. Eddie was actually decent for a newbie. He began consistently making easy shots after the first three games and sank a few harder shots occasionally.

During game five, Richie said, “You’re doing really well, Sweetheart. Most newbies are all power or way to soft, but you have exactly,” he pulled Eddie against him again and kissed him quickly, “the right touch.”

Richie’s back was to the table and Eddie lightly pushed him against it before smashing their lips together. This was the first kiss of theirs where Eddie wished they weren’t in such a public venue, even if it was only Ruth watching. He pushed himself against Richie allowed himself to get lost in the feel of his soulmate for a minute before he forced himself back.

“That was a good one,” Eddie said.

“The kiss?”

“That too, but I meant the nickname.”

“What nickname?” Richie’s face was scrunched up as he tried to remember what he called Eddie.

Eddie steps away from Richie and took his cue from where he hastily left it when Richie grabbed him. “Did our kiss really fog up your brain that much, Sweetheart?” Eddie said. He turns away from Richie and starts lining up his shot.

“Good to know, Sweetheart.”

Eddie missed his shot.

Eddie won exactly one game by having a lucky streak where he sank five of his balls in one turn. Richie was good, but between the alcohol and having been distracted by Eddie bending over the table, he wasn’t able to recover from that. They decided that would be their last game and Richie went to collect his card and pay the bill before they left.

After they both said their goodbyes to Ruth and left the building, Eddie asked Richie, “my friends and I are having game night tonight. Do you want to join?”

“Being soulmates lets us skip straight to the introduction to friends, right?”

“Yeah, I think so,” said Eddie after letting out a short laugh.

“Then sure. I have nothing better to do anyway.” Richie shrugged and looked away for a moment before a grin grew across his face and he nudged Eddie with his shoulder.

“Come on then. We need to pick up some alcohol so were not the only tipsy ones. Warning, I work at the grocery store and some of my coworkers might tease.”

“I’m pretty sure I can take it.”

The two of them walk in the direction of Eddie’s work hand in hand.


End file.
